Review: antec ea

Antec, the world leader in high-performance computing components, has shipped us the EarthWatts Platinum 550W Power Supply, the latest addition to its Earthwatts series.

Product ceded by:

ANTEC EA-550W PLATINUM FEATURES
Power	550W Continuous power
80 PLUS certified	80 PLUS PLATINUM 93% efficiency.
Security measures:	- Protections: Protection against excess current (OCP), Protection against overvoltages (OVP), Protection against undervoltages (UVP), Protection against short circuits (SCP), Protection against overvoltages (OPP), Peak Protection and Current Closure (SIP), No Load Operation (NLO) and Voltage Drop (BOP) -High-performance Japanese caps: High-performance Japanese capacitors that guarantee the tightest and most regulated DC stability -Save Energy and Money: Reduce your electric bill by up to 25% - Safety approvals: UL, cUL, CB, CE, FCC, TÜV, BSMI, CCC, C-Tick, GOST-R, KCC
Fan	120mm DBB SIlencious. (Includes double long-life bearings).
Power connectors	- 1 x 24-pin - 1 x 8 (4 + 4) - ATX12V / EPS12V plugs - 2 x 8 (6 + 2) -pin PCI-E connector - 4 x Molex - 5 x SATA - 1 x Floppy
Weight	1.9 kg
Size	86mm (H) x 150mm (W) x 140mm (L)
Warranty	Antec AQ3: Antec quality 3-year warranty and 24/7 global support
Warranty	2 years.

After seeing its most important characteristics. Let's take a quick look at the power of its rails:

Finally, we leave you a useful table that will help you understand the difference in efficiency between the 80 PLUS certificates:

80 PLUS CERTIFICATE
80 PLUS PLATINUM	89-92% EFFICIENCY
80 PLUS GOLD	87% EFFICIENCY
80 PLUS SILVER	85% EFFICIENCY
80 PLUS BRONZE	82% EFFICIENCY
80 PLUS	80% EFFICIENCY

Antec presents its EarthWatts font in a box in the colors yellow (corporate) and silver (platinum). In it we can see that it is a source of 550w, 93% efficiency and 80 PLUS Platinum certification.

At the back we have all the features in 5 languages!

The fountain is very well protected with cardboard and plastic.

The box includes:

• Antec EA-550 Platinum source. Power cord. 4 screws and cable reel. Manual.

General view of the power supply.

The source includes a 12 cm Yacht Loon D12BM-12 fan with double bearing. It is very powerful since it reaches 2300 RPM, an air flow of 95 CFM and gives off a maximum loudness of 41dB (A).

On the left side we have the sticker with the technical characteristics of its + v12v rail. Being a source intended for continuous work, its 30A on its 4 + 12v rails will offer us excellent stability.

Right side we have the Antec logo screenprinted.

Cooling is quite efficient with the bee panel. On the back it also includes an on / off button and the power connector.

The source is not modular and brings the management of all life. With a good wiring organization in the box, we will have no problem hiding all the cables.

The cables are meshed and their connectors are of quality.

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel 2500k 3.4GHZ
Base plate:	Asus Sabertooth P67
Memory:	Kingston Hyperx PNP 2x4GB
Heatsink	Corsair H60
HDD	Kingston Hyperx 120gb
Graphic card	Asus Geforce GTX580 Direct CU II
Box	Benchtable Dimastech Easy V2.5

To check at what level our power supply works, we are going to check the energy consumption and the stability of its voltages. We have subjected the Antec EarthWatts 550W Platinum with a TOP graphic such as the ASUS GTX580 Direct CU II. These are the results obtained:

WE RECOMMEND YOU YOUR ROG Strix 650G and 750G, New 80Plus Gold Font Series

The Antec EarthWatts 550w is a quiet, highly efficient, 80 PLUS Platinum certified power supply. Few sources have the most demanding 80 PLUS certificate in the world.

Its core is assembled by FSP. Considered one of the best manufacturers of continuous power supplies (servers and workstation). In addition, it incorporates a Yate Loon D12BM-12 fan with double bearing. Its blades rotate up to 2300 RPM, have an air flow of 95 CFM and give off a maximum loudness of 41dB (A).

We have tested the power supply with a high performance system: i5 2500k at 4.6ghz (1.4v), 8gb of ram and an ASUS GTX580 Direct CU II graphics card obtaining excellent voltages on its rails. Its efficiency has been great: 110W idle, 175W CPU load and the graphics card at full power a total of 410W. I mean, we have an off-road source.

Although we would have liked a modular cable management for an excellent organization.

The Antec EarthWatts 550w is a silent, powerful, efficient source with a 3-year warranty (with 24/7 support). Its price ranges from € 95, any PC lover sees their purchase as a great present / future investment.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ POWERFUL.	- IT IS NOT MODULAR.
+ GOOD CORE.
+ SUPPORTS ANY MARKET GRAPHIC.
+ 80 PLUS PLATINUM.
+ SILENT FAN.
+ 3 YEARS WARRANTY

The Professional Review team awards you the gold medal and recommended product.